SA Businesses Left with Solar Systems Built for Load Shedding, Not Savings

South African businesses are sitting on thousands of underperforming solar systems because many were installed primarily to keep operations running during load shedding, rather than to deliver long-term electricity cost savings. Now, Jaltech is planning to invest R500 million to acquire these assets and optimise their performance, helping businesses turn emergency energy investments into opportunities for sustained savings.

During the load shedding crisis, companies across South Africa invested tens of billions of rand in solar panels, battery storage and related energy infrastructure to protect their operations against unreliable electricity supply. For many businesses, the immediate priority was keeping the lights on, maintaining production and avoiding costly interruptions.

However, the urgency of the crisis often meant that long-term energy efficiency received less attention. Systems were not always sized to maximise financial returns, matched to businesses’ actual electricity consumption patterns or configured to make the most of periods when electricity tariffs were highest.

The result is a substantial number of commercial solar installations that may provide backup power but are not delivering their full potential in electricity cost savings.

Jaltech, one of South Africa’s largest commercial solar owners, aims to address this challenge through a planned R500 million investment to acquire underperforming solar assets and fund the improvements required to unlock greater value from them.

“During load shedding, companies became desperate to keep their operations running, and this led to the biggest solar rush globally,” says Matthew Cruise, energy analyst at Jaltech.

“The problem is that these systems were never built around savings. To retrofit and optimise them to start seeing any real benefit, businesses would now have to collectively invest billions of rand. Most don’t have the capital or the technical capability to do that.”

Turning emergency investments into long-term savings

For businesses that invested heavily in solar during the energy crisis, upgrading existing installations can present a significant financial challenge. Retrofitting equipment, improving system controls and adjusting energy management strategies require both capital and technical expertise, resources that may be needed elsewhere in the business.

Jaltech’s approach offers an alternative. Instead of requiring companies to finance their own upgrades, the company acquires underperforming solar systems and takes responsibility for the costs and complexity associated with optimising them.

The original asset owners then enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Jaltech, under which they purchase electricity at an agreed tariff designed to be lower than their alternative electricity costs. This arrangement can allow businesses to benefit from improved energy economics without having to fund the optimisation work themselves.

Jaltech has already acquired and refinanced hundreds of solar assets across the country. According to the company, these transactions have helped businesses save millions of rand in electricity costs while allowing the original owners to recover most of their investment in the assets.

The model also changes how businesses can approach their energy infrastructure. Rather than treating solar installations as once-off capital projects, companies can potentially turn them into managed energy solutions focused on operational efficiency and predictable electricity expenditure.

Why system optimisation matters

A solar installation’s financial performance depends on more than the number of panels on a roof. Electricity consumption throughout the day, the size and configuration of the system, battery storage, tariff structures and the ability to manage energy flows can all influence the savings achieved.

A system designed primarily to provide power during outages may not be configured to deliver the best financial returns under normal grid conditions. Optimisation can involve reassessing how the system operates and identifying improvements that better align electricity generation and storage with the business’s consumption patterns.

For energy-intensive businesses, even incremental improvements in how electricity is generated, stored and used can make a meaningful difference to operating costs. However, the potential savings will depend on each installation, the applicable electricity tariffs and the cost of any upgrades required.

“The system that got businesses through load shedding is not the system that will save it money today,” Cruise adds.

“The opportunity is to rework these assets around how the business actually consumes electricity and turn the emergency investment into long-term cost-savings.”

A new phase for commercial solar

As South African businesses continue to manage electricity costs and improve operational resilience, the focus is shifting from simply installing renewable energy capacity to ensuring that existing systems deliver measurable financial benefits.

Jaltech’s planned investment highlights the potential for acquiring, refinancing and optimising existing commercial solar infrastructure rather than relying exclusively on new installations.

For businesses with underperforming systems, this approach could offer a route to improved energy savings without the immediate financial burden of funding upgrades. The broader opportunity is to make better use of the solar infrastructure already in place and ensure that investments made during the load shedding crisis continue to deliver value long after emergency power shortages have eased.